Xbox Originals

In December 2007, Microsoft launched the Xbox Originals platform. Part of Xbox Live Marketplace, it allows you to download Xbox 1 games for 1200 Microsoft Points (GBP 10.20 / EUR 12.00) apiece, with the likes of Halo, Psychonauts and Fahrenheit among the launch titles.

Microsoft has continued to introduce games to the service bit by bit, and we've been rounding them up in this ongoing reference guide, which offers a bit of context on each and a link back to our original review where possible, and sarcastic comments where not.

Halo

Quite popular this one, apparently. It's lovely to look to look back at the understated way former editor John greeted its much trumpeted arrival, picking over its contents from the perspective of a hardened PC FPS player. Others would heap more specific celebration on its control scheme (although John was surprised at how easily he took to it), but much of his praise and criticism has stood the test of time. Spoilsport Kristan tells us he thinks the first one is worth a 9, but then he says a lot of things. Whatever the truth of the matter (and you apparently think it's 8.7, judging by our gamepage), Halo proved to be the main foundation upon which the Xbox empire was able to stand with conviction, and so it has proved again and again.

Psychonauts

One of the funniest and most lovely games of 2005, and a game that so many of our panel of end-of-year experts felt the same about that it took our imaginary Game Of The Year gong in the face of strong competition. At the time, Kieron Gillen remarked: "Psychonauts isn't the game of the year. But there's part of me that's aware that in twenty years time, if you ask me about 2005, it very may well be." What a splendid sentiment. As to why, it very nearly achieved the unachievable goal of transferring the "everything is a joke" mentality of games like Day of the Tentacle into a platform setting, taking you to plenty of wonderful and hilarious places in the process. The Milkman Conspiracy, Lungfishopolis... Ahh. There have been very few like it before or since, and Brutal Legend has a lot to live up to.

Crimson Skies: High Road to Revenge

Alternative realities are nothing new, but it takes a brave developer to propose one where the USA doesn't exist. But then you can't take Crimson Skies too seriously - it stars Nathan Zachary and the flying Fortune Hunters, for a start, who might as well be opening for Tenacious D - and it's about dogfighting in made-up skies, and does the Starfighter thing of refusing to lock people out with complexity. Kristan felt that PC fans might reckon it a bit dumbed-down, but judging by its popularity on Xbox Live at the time, enough people got past that, and even without the online elements he described it as an "excellent, polished package that offers instant and constant entertainment from the moment it hits the disc tray". Well, there's no disc this time, but then you're probably not a physical goods guy.

Fuzion Frenzy

Never reviewed!

But! It does make an appearance in the Xbox Cult Classics feature we did to celebrate five years of Xbox. "Famously," wrote Kristan, "this was Bill Gates' favourite Xbox game which is an instant kiss of death. It was also slammed by bewildered critics who didn't have time to mess around with a party game when there were so many sexier Xbox games out for launch. But actually, it was a far better compendium of four-player multiplayer games than most people were prepared to give it credit for, and it's no surprise that Microsoft has decided to follow it up on 360." And it was no surprise to those of us bewildered critics who thought it was a bit rubbish the first time to see Fuzion Frenzy 2 crash and burn. Apparently, your mileage may vary.

Burnout 3: Takedown

The first child of Criterion's partnership - and later marriage - with EA, Takedown was also the first Burnout game to appear on Xbox from day one, and the first to embrace Xbox Live. There were teething problems - Kristan complained about an over-complicated lobby system, and a lack of integration between single- and multi-player modes (a feature whose implementation would go on to become commonplace across Xbox Live titles) - but the wealth of content and the introduction of racing elements like the titular takedowns stirred him in all the right ways. Crash mode also said hello to the infamous Crashbreakers and Heartbreakers, which continue to divide opinion next to the relative purity of Burnout 2. Subsequent title Revenge is already available on Xbox 360, but, as a way into the series for people who have yet to bother with it, Takedown for a tenner ought to be extremely tempting.